An executive who helped create Bumble started an app to help women find mom friends

In a desperate attempt to meet other mothers, Ivana
Mannel Googled "how to make mom friends in Dallas." She didn't
have any family or friends with kids of their own in her area,
and was desperate to find someone to relate to. What she found on
the other end of her search was Peanut, an app that links up
mothers with other compatible moms in the same area.

Now, she says she goes on the app everyday to exchange messages
with other moms. One of her "matches" is teaching her French, and
another how to make Sushi. "I have people who understand
what it's like to be a mother and they're there to help. It's so
amazing and simply an enormous relief because I know I am not
alone." she said.

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The Peanut app uses a similar formula to dating apps like
Tinder and Bumble. Users connect their Facebook accounts, and
choose from a variety of descriptors like "Spiritual Gangster,"
"Fashion Killa," or "Single Mama." A smart algorithm and
geolocation tool then shows them nearby women with similar
interests. They can either swipe up to wave, or down to say maybe
later. If another woman waves back, it's a match and the two can
start chatting.

The app, launched one year ago, was created by Michelle
Kennedy, a former executive at Badoo who was integral to the
creation of Bumble. After having a son, she struggled to find
other moms to connect with while also working. She was also
seriously unimpressed with the lack of social technology
available for moms.

"It was like, here's a forum. The technology and tools were
out there, but there was nothing catering to this enormous
market." Kennedy said.

Moms who missed out on Tinder

The app's demographic is 25 to 35-year-olds, a generation
accustomed to whipping out a smartphone to do everything. Kennedy
said she finds there are two types of users on Peanut: those who
found their partners through a dating app and find it totally
natural to meet close friends online; and those who missed out on
using apps like Tinder and want in on the fun.

She wanted to focus specifically on the female user experience,
and created Peanut with all of the constraints of motherhood in
mind. The app connects to users' calendars, and allows busy moms
to schedule and add playdates or other meetups directly to their
calendars.

Safety is also a critical feature - it's why Kennedy requires
users to connect Facebook accounts and use geolocation tools.
Dallas mom Jess Elo said she recently hosted a happy hour
for women in the Peanut community, and was pleasantly surprised
when 15 women she hadn't met before showed up.

"There's a safe feeling to it, you know where they live, and how
old their kids are. That's the key to it." she said.

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Peanut

The isolation that comes along with having a baby can be
difficult, but Yalda
Uhls, a researcher at UCLA and author of Media Moms &
Digital Dads, emphasized the importance of young mothers also
taking time to connect with each other and their babies in
non-virtual worlds.

"Looking at your face is how kids learn non-verbal empathy cues,
and if you are always looking at your screen they won't learn."
she said.

So far, the app has launched in London, NYC, Dallas,
Chicago, LA and as of Thursday, San Francisco. It's got a long
ways to go before reaching the scale of a Tinder, but the app is
growing its audience of users and expanding its locations: The
number of users is currently in the "six figures" according to
the company, with more than 100,000 swipers per day and 15
million profile views. Kennedy said she also sees users popping
up around the world in far flung places like Dubai and Australia.
Mothers are a powerful community, and word about the app spreads
quickly from mom to mom.

Kennedy says she gets emails from users every week asking
when Peanut is coming to their city. She noted that the way our
society lives and works has changed. People used to
live down the street from a close community of
mothers and sisters, but that is no longer the
reality.

"They say it takes a village, but we no longer have that
village mentality, and those support networks just don't exist
anymore." she said